54/150: Imagine a worm 60 metres long!

Nemertea, also known as “ribbon worm” is a phylum of marine invertebrate worm-like animals that are characterized by their eversibleproboscis. The proboscis is used to catch prey and comes out of the nemertean’s body and stabs its prey with a venomous tip. Nemertean worms may be the longest animal on Earth, however it is difficult to measure them, they have been found at over 30 m long and estimated to grow to 60 m, longer than a Blue Whale! They also have regenerative properties and can grow back parts of their body or even whole new worms after a predator attack. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150

53/150: If you think adulting is hard as a human, try it as a mayfly where you only have a single day to reproduce!

The great Carl Sagan once said that “Compared to a star, we are like mayflies, fleeting ephemeral creatures who live out their lives in the course of a single day”. While this is indeed true for adult mayflies, whose order classification “Ephemeroptera” is coined from the term ephemeral, it is not entirely accurate. The primary objective of adult mayflies is to reproduce; they don’t even eat! Some males may only live a few hours while females can live a few days. However, mayfly larvae spend up to two years foraging at the bottom of streams and rivers before becoming adults. Along with other aquatic insect larvae, specifically caddisflies and stoneflies, they are one of the most commonly used indices of aquatic ecosystem health. These insects are found in a wide variety of habitats and are very sensitive to pollution, therefore their presence in the water is a strong indicator of a healthy ecosystem. On the other hand, their synchronized emergence as adults can sometimes be an inconvenience to those living near rivers where massive mayfly swarms can be common, not necessarily occurring in May. There are currently 19,475 specimens with barcodes on BOLD. #Canada150 #Biodiversity150 #aquaticinsects #indicatorspecies #healthyecosystem